In accordance with current practice, large electrical and/or mechanical infrastructures such as mechanical piping, electrical cable bundles and the like, must be routed around wooden structural elements such as wooden support beams. The chief reason for this is that going directly through such wooden structural elements reduces the load carrying capability of the structural elements. In practice, where holes are drilled in a structural element, only small holes are drilled, e.g., holes having a diameter that is about ⅙ of the thickness or depth of the wooden structural elements. This, of course, limits the size of the infrastructure that can be routed directly through such wooden structural elements. However, routing of such infrastructures around the wooden structural elements, rather than through the elements can produce functional problems and the result is often unpleasant from an aesthetic viewpoint.
Various forms of reinforcement members are known per se. U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,682 B1 to Cowely relates to structural “enhancers” for rectangular beams of lumber which are subjected to severe torsional forces. The structural enhancer includes a thin web portion which engages the bight of the beam and which has “punchout” areas for nailing and/or conduit penetration. U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,381 to DenAdel discloses an insulated beam including two metal support channels which wrap partially around a plastic block member. Vertical ribs are provided in the area of an aperture which is used to provide access between the exterior and interior of the block member. U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,054 to Soltis et al discloses a reinforced wooden structural member wherein a wooden substrate is bonded to a reinforcing material in sandwich-like configuration in areas of anticipated bolted connections extending through the structural member, and wherein an aperture is provided in the reinforced structural member for this purpose. U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,125 to Hardy discloses a brace structure including a top plate of a wood-frame structure, with first and second vertically oriented plates on opposite sides of the top plate and a utility access hole in the top plate. U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,058B1 to Trarup discloses a reinforcing member for an end-splint wood beam.